A Tale of Two
by AdultingIsHard
Summary: It's been 50 years since Ash Ketchum beat all the elite four. A lot has changed, but still Ash reigns. Will a new generation of adventurers complete the journey to beat the wizened Pokèmon Master? Or will difficult trials stop them in their tracks?
1. Chapter 1

_Bzzzz. Bzzzz. Bzzzz. Bzzz._

"Fifteen minutes to get to Professor Oak's lab! I better hurry!" Myra thought to herself.

She jumped out of bed, changed quickly into some athletic shorts and a tshirt, brushed her light brown hair, grabbed her bag, and ran out the door. She could hear her sister, Peggy, playing with her mom's Flareon as it warmed up waffles for her brother, Dean Paul.

* * *

Meanwhile Roger was still under his snug Clefairy comforter at the Oak Inn, with a small amount of drool on the pillow. All that was visible was his messy dark brown hair. He had stayed up all night trying to get a glace at Gary Oak, the retired champion who turned his childhood mansion into an Inn when the town became flooded with young trainers around this time.

* * *

Myra got to the lab just in time, she could see the other kids in the town starting to file down the street. Some had come from other towns, and travelled miles to receive their starting pokèmon, some had even travelled from other regions, where different kinds of pokèmon she had never seen before lived! Speaking of, she still had to figure out which one she wanted. In the past, young trainers would flock to Pallet Town at the young age of 10, and with no training, they would be thrown out into the world with nothing but a bag and a pokèmon. No wonder they dug around in trash cans for scraps! In these newer times, young trainers started school and learned all there was about pokèmon and how to care for them, battle, and what careers were available. Myra's father was a prominent berry farmer. He choose a Weedle as his starter, who grew to be a strong and fearsome Beedrill, who helps pollinate his berries and also keeps out scavenging Pidgeys and Rattatas. Myra's mother, on the other hand, had to go further in her training. After beating the elite four of her time, she was able to use her band of Eevee evolutions to further study pokèmon and manage all the online classes all the professors of the different regions taught.

With five minutes left to wait, Myra thought through all her training, and which pokèmon she would ultimately choose. At the age of five she had gone to pretraining, where she learned to care for pokèmon. Later in middle training, she learned about all the types of pokèmon in the textbooks. In high training she then learned about how to use certain techniques to further train pokèmon for speed or attack, depending on the pokèmon, and also about special stones and other ways to evolve pokèmon in very hard online classes. Now at the age of eighteen, she felt ready to handle leaving home on her own to make a life for herself. She may have been tall and awkward through school, but she was really starting to grow into her frame now. She may not have been the best at making the shots at Blastoise's cannons, or playing Dodgeball with Jigglypuffs, but she was pretty good at the Ponyta races.

She had learned so much about each pokèmon in school. The lab had more available now as starters with the large amount of kids choosing to further their pokèmon education, but she still really liked the original starters. Bulbasaur, with it's ability to persevere and help other pokèmon, or Charmander, with its fearsome attacks and quick domination, or Squirtle, with its hardy shell and diverse abilities?

While Myra was deciding her fate, Roger was just rubbing groggy eyes. Upon looking at his clock, he realized that at 9:01am, he was going to be a little late. "Oh well," he thought, "I'll still get a good pokèmon, I could beat the elite four with a Magikarp if I had to!"

His older sister, Sally, had previously left with her prized Abra for the big cities. His brother, Leo, was tending a baby Oddish in the yard, he aspired to be a great farmer someday. Roger's father was the engineer who made all the pokècenters across the world, while his mother stayed in their home by Cerulean at a pokèmon daycare center.

* * *

Roger rushed out of the hotel, his backpack wide open, seeing the line of aspiring trainers, he realized he didn't have far to go to the end of the line. He had always been a little late to everything, but it usually didn't matter. His tall, athletic frame and unmatched skills usually saved him in these situations, but that wouldn't be able to help him now. He had always been the one to excel in all the competitions at school, not because of skill so much as a determination to be the best. The thing that he really did great at was the mock battles. He never really had to study for them like the other kids, but he still was the four time champion in his high training school.

* * *

Myra was still thinking through her options when Professor Oak opened the door. Well not the real Oak, but a hologram. Oak had died many years ago, but the tradition he started was continued on thanks to technology.

"Hello there! Welcome to the world of Pokémon! My name is Oak! People call me the Pokémon Prof! This world is inhabited by creatures called Pokémon! For some people, Pokémon are pets. Other use them for fights. Myself… I study Pokémon as a Professor. Your very own Pokémon legend is about to unfold! A world of dreams and adventures with Pokémon awaits! Let's go!"

The Oak hologram led Myra and a small group of students into the lab, while another Oak hologram went past to welcome the next group, "Hello there! Welcome to the world..."

The first Oak hologram led Myra and her group to the backyard where pokèmon were running free and playing! There was a Pidgey pulling on a Rattata's tail, a Polywhirl sneaking up behind a Machop as it flexed its muscles. There seemed to be a race going on in the small stream, with a Squirtle in the lead, with a Horsea and Magikarp on it's heels. A Ponyta watched nearby, with a Spearow napping on it's back. Caterpies and Weedles were lounging in the trees. Myra was so excited! She was naming off all the pokèmon, remembering all the exams she had to take, but it was so much more exciting in real life! Looking around she realized the students in her group were starting to venture forward to find their pokèmon. Even some from groups just entering the clearing were moving in toward their favorites. She ventured toward the graceful Ponyta, surrounded by a cute Growlithe, a shy Charmander, and a bashful Vulpix.

* * *

Roger counted and saw he still had 3 groups in front of him to go. But that didn't matter, because he was deep in thought about all the online classes he has taken from the renowned professors. Should he get a quick and hard striking Charmander? Or maybe get an unconventional sturdy Staryu? But getting the feisty Pikachu would turn some heads. No one since the time of Ash Ketchum could tame and train a Pikachu and make it all the way. And that was over 50 years ago!

* * *

Myra noticed people were starting to leave with their chosen pokèmon, walking back into the lab to get a registered pokèdex and a map of the entire Kanto region. Each year, depending on how well the student did, they could stop by the lab and get an update with the next region they could travel. She put her hand out to the Ponyta.

* * *

Roger was finally in the door! He walked through hologram Oak right out the back door, past a slightly charred girl leading a pleased looking Ponyta. The yard was almost barren, the pokèmon that were left were either timidly hiding in the trees from all the commotion, or too defiant to be considered by the other trainers. Roger looked at the others in his group. One guy was clearly a nerd, carrying a band instrument on his back(he's sure to choose that shy Eevee behind the tree), there was a redhead surrounded by girls(a Jigglypuff guy if I ever saw one), and a quirky guy with a sly smile(crap he's probably gonna grab that impish looking Squirtle zooming around in the water). Then a ball of feathers smacked into the side of Roger's head. "What...is...this!?" He reached out and pulled back a feisty looking Pidgey, determined to make a meal out of Roger. He looked around and realized it was the last pokèmon, all the girls with the redhead boy were coaxing the timid Caterpies and Weedles out of the trees, the redhead was actually trying to catch a Geodude that kept burrowing itself deeper in the rocks, and the last boy looked like he was having a blast playing with the Squirtle. "Well, at least it's not a Magikarp." That was all he was able to get out before the Pidgey decided it wanted more of his face.


	2. Chapter 2

Myra set out with her new Ponyta, slightly embarrassed because of the burnt section of her shirt. "Gee thanks Ponyta, now we're going to have to stop by my parent's house, we're going to be so far behind!" Ponyta just tossed her head and happily snorted, oblivious to Myra's lecture.

* * *

After finally convincing Pidgey to stop trying to peck his eyes out, Roger registered his pokèdex and started up the road. He noticed the same boys he saw earlier on the side of the path. "Hey!" said the redhead, "Do you wanna battle us?" Roger saw that the redhead and the mischievous guy were teamed up, leaving him to battle with the nerdy boy. Seeing the challenge, he accepted. "What's your name?" He asked the boy.

"Nick," he replied, "I'm not sure how good I'll be, I wasn't very good at the battle simulator in school."

"Don't worry," Roger said, "Just do what I say and we'll win."

Buck, the redhead, and Cam, the mischievous one, looked ready to go. Their Squirtle and Geodude would be tough to beat, but Roger felt sure there was a way. His Pidgey was flying in quick circles around Nick's Eevee, who was trying to protect it's ears from Pidgey's dives. "Ok, if your Eevee growls at them, my Pidgey can stir up some sand so they can't attack as easily."

* * *

Myra finally escaped her parents house and walked out onto the path. Right in the center of the road, she saw a group of rowdy guys battling their pokèmon. "Idiots," she thought to herself, "they're never gonna make it to the next town in one piece." Further up the road she could see more people flocking together like Spearow. She took one last look behind at the town she had called home for so long. It was a little sad to be leaving the small town, but she was also excited to start her own journey. Right as she was about to leave she heard soft sobbing beside the Inn. She looked, and there was a girl with pale skin and jet black hair. She was built like a Blastoise, and Myra immediately looked around for someone the girl had probably beat up, but then she realized it was the girl herself who was crying! She didn't know what to do, and she didn't have to, because the girl looked up and quickly dried her tears. "Sorry my name is Della."

"I'm Myra."

"Would you mind walking with me until we get to Fuchsia City? That's where my family is. I just don't know if I can make it all that way alone."

"Sure, where's your pokèmon?"

Just then a small Sandshrew peaked out from behind Della. It looked about as scared of the prospective of travelling as Della was. Myra felt a little bad for her since she was also starting to miss her family. "Let's go, hopefully we can get to Viridian City before we have to sleep for the night."

* * *

Roger was looking smug and very triumphant at his Pidgey, who was breathing heavily and looking exhausted. Nick was dancing in circles holding out his Eevee, who was also looking very tired. "We won!" Nick exclaimed, "We beat them!" Cam and Buck were holding their passed out pokèmon, though Buck was having a hard time holding up the solid Geodude. Roger was pleased with the outcome, not to mention his Pidgey was now too tired to attack his head more. He saw two girls walking by, and noticed one of them was the charred girl from the lab, she was pretty.

Buck called out, "Hey! Do either of you have any berries we could use?"

The tall girl nodded and reached into her bag and handed them two yellow berries. Cam and Buck reached out for them, and then gave them to their pokèmon. As they hungrily munched on their berries, the girls started back on the road. "Wait!" Cam called, "Do you want paid back?"

The tall girl responded, "No, it's alright. My dad gave me plenty before I left."

"Alright thanks!" The four boys said all at once.

Geodude and Squirtle were looking much better, but were now taking turns throwing some dirty looks toward Pidgey and Eevee.

* * *

Myra thought the boy she talked to was pretty cute. Della seemed to think so too, and was much more vocal about it. "Awe man! We should've got his number, we could've called him sometime to battle."

"It's alright Della," Myra said, "we're all going the same way, we'll probably see him at the Pewter City Gym."

Up ahead, Myra was starting to realize that there was more excitement in store. There seemed to be a flock of agitated Spearow bearing down on a small group of trainers. The woods were not as calm as she once believed, in fact, right now it seemed downright terrifying. She didn't want to show Della her fear, but Della seemed oblivious of what was going on, instead she was throwing happy looks at her Sandshrew, who was struggling to keep up with Ponyta's longer stride. Myra wanted to get to Viridian City before night, but she also didn't want to attract the attention of the horde of angry Spearow. Right as she was debating whether to slow down, she realized the group of people they were following, were running straight toward them!

There were two girls and a boy, with a female Nidoran,male Nidoran, and Pikachu being chased by about fifteen Spearow. Myra shared a look with Ponyta, who snorted and charged. "Use your ember Ponyta!" Myra said. Ponyta lept over the bruised and battered pokèmon and flames erupted from its mane and tail, and then a shot of flames flew from its mouth. All of a sudden the Spearow were showered in flames, and a few from the front dropped. "Sandshrew, sand attack!" Della shouted. The timid Sandshrew looked determined, and a puff of sand flew as it began to run around the flock, covering the atmosphere. With a bound of courage, the other pokèmon who were being chased joined in on the fight. Ponyta was running around happily shooting flames out of it's mouth whenever it came across a Spearow not covered in flames.

Within seconds the battle had completely turned around. "Great job Ponyta!" Myra exclaimed. Ponyta trotted over with it's head held high. The Spearow were now flapping into some smoking trees, looking beaten and tired. Ponyta stood with her head held high, and Sandshrew was looking confident and pleased at how the battle had gone. Myra looked behind her and saw that down the path, the cute boy had a look of surprise on his face; he quickly looked away and joined the conversation with the rest of the boys. But she had seen the look in his eyes. He was impressed. And even though Della was smitten with him, Myra really wanted to impress him again. Then, without warning, her sleeve caught on fire. Ponyta didn't seem to appreciate her loss of attention, so Myra turned to the enthusiastic pokèmon and rubbed her soft muzzle, thanking her.

* * *

When the boys reached Viridian City, Roger was exhausted. The four had to take turns carrying Geodude because he was so heavy. Even the energetic Pidgey tried to help, but it was not strong enough yet. Unfortunately for Eevee, Pidgey seemed to think the little pokèmon was playing tag, because Pidgey kept flying in circles, swooping down towards her every few seconds. By the time they got to the pokècenter, everyone was completely exhausted except Pidgey, who seemed to have boundless energy. When they walked in there were trainers spread across the whole floor. The boys had taken so long with their battle that they were one of the last ones to arrive. They dropped off their pokèmon for the night and decided to camp at the edge of town. Roger saw that the pretty girl was camping with a group near by. He wondered if he would have the chance to talk to her. Nick got out his saxophone and played a low jazzy number. Roger's eyes started drooping as he thought about the next morning.


	3. Chapter 3

Myra woke up early with her alarm, she looked around and saw everyone was still asleep, and it was still dark out. She wanted to get going early to beat the crowd to the gym. She packed her bag and headed over to the pokècenter to pick up Ponyta and Della's Sandshrew. As much as she wanted to look around Viridian, she had looked at the map last night before falling asleep, and knew that they would be back here later in their journey, and she was hoping for a lot more time to explore the small town then. Growing up in Pallet Town, she had never stepped foot in any other town, the same was for any other young trainer. Other than the town they grew up in, young trainers couldn't explore any other town. Even in their training at school, they never saw a map of another region, and they only learned the pokèmon of their region. Pokèmon from regions were kept secret from others. Myra was going to fight hard to get to the other regions and see all the pokèmon.

Della woke up slowly to Myra's prodding.

"Why do we have to get up so early?" Della asked.

"Because we have to get through the forest to get to the first gym!" Exclaimed Myra.

Eventually Della got up and packed her bag. They said their goodbyes to the group they camped with, and headed up the road to Viridian Forest to Pewter City. While walking up the road, she looked ahead at the towering forest. It was huge! Even with the strong and quick Ponyta at her side, she was anxious about what lay ahead in the forest. Even now she thought she could hear a strange sound coming from the middle (she may also just be hearing things). She looked over to ask what Della thought, and noticed Della was standing a little ways away down a small path looking down at something. Myra wondering if she dropped something, and was a little annoyed that Della was holding her back from reaching Pewter City. She walked around the corner and saw an egg laying on the ground! Della was still a ways down the path, and Myra didn't know what to do. The egg looked like ebony, it was pure black. Myra reached down to touch it, and it was as smooth as silk. She didn't know what to do with it. Quickly she picked it up and held it out to Ponyta to sniff. Ponyta tossed her head and snorted, then she reached her head out and nuzzled the egg. Myra decided to put the egg in her pack until she could figure out what to do with it. Just as she was closing her pack, Della came over, "Look at what I found!" She exclaimed. Myra looked, and saw that Della had found an old wrinkled piece of paper. It was yellowed with age, and had several smudges across the top of it. She turned it over, and the front showed an aged drawing of Professor Oak, and at his side was a Charizard, Venusaur, and Blastoise. Above his head was a small Mew with a Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno flying in circles around it. Professor Oak seemed to be pointing at something ahead of them. The art was amazing, the Moltres seemed to be made of flames, Articuno really shimmered in the light, and Zapdos was throwing sparks from it's wings. The Mew was mysterious, like it was not really there, faded into the back as the birds circled.

"What do you think it means?" Della asked.

"I'm not sure," Myra said, "it looks like it was made for a reason though. We should hold onto it and ask the gym leaders if they know what it was made for."

Della put the scroll into her pack, and they set off toward Viridian Forest once again.

* * *

About five hours later, Roger woke up, rubbing his eyes. The sun was brightly shining down on him. He looked around, and saw he was alone, everyone else had already taken off towards Pewter City and they gym there. He packed his bag and walked over to the pokècenter to collect his pokèmon. Pidgey seemed to be in a great mood, and was wide awake. Roger decided to check out the town for the day. He looked around the small town and saw mostly the same thing as in the city he grew up in, Celadon City. The pokècenter, with its red roof and glass doors, was almost identical to the one he knew growing up. The pokèmart was the same style, but with a bright blue roof. There were also some small houses, and a gym that was not opened until a trainer came with seven badges. The gym looked beat down, and the doors rusted. Recent trainers had not gotten far enough to gain entrance, rumors around town were that the gym leader had gone on a journey for a couple months, so even if a worthy trainer came, they would have to stay in town and train until the leader came back. Roger didn't know who the leader was, most leaders kept their identities secret until a challenger could make it to their gym and battle them, and those who challenged them usually kept quiet about it to others who asked. He had asked his father once, because he had helped repair some gyms, but his father refused to tell him, saying if he made it to the gym one day he would find out. Across the path from the gym, there seemed to be a small path. Pidgey flew down and looked back at Roger, he didn't see much down the path, but headed down anyway. He saw some other footprints in the ground, trainers from earlier had already been down the now beaten path. He got to the end and climbed up on a pretty large rock. Pidgey flew up and landed beside him, and he tossed some pieces of his sandwich to Pidgey as he ate his lunch up there. From the rock he could see across most of the town, as he looked to the right, he saw the path from Pallet Town they had taken the day before, and to his left he saw Viridian Forest. He looked behind and saw the path to the Elite Four, he knew he couldn't go far down that path. Other than the old gym, everything in the town looked new, and he even saw some kids coming out ot play. He jumped down from the rock and Pidgey flew down to his shoulder. The two took off toward the forest as Roger started telling Pidgey his plan for beating the Pewter City Gym.

* * *

Myra was getting tired of the forest, all around her she could hear chattering Caterpie and Weedle, the egg was heavy in her pack, and even Ponyta was walking with a bored look on her face. Della and Sandshrew were dragging their feet about 20 yards back. Myra made sure to stop anytime a corner came up so Della wouldn't get lost. They had come across another trainer in the beginning of the forest looking for a Pikachu, and Myra thought it might be fun to have a relative of Ash Ketchum's Pikachu, legend has it that his Pikachu started a family, and that the female preferred to stay deep in the forest with her young. Also in the forest were more Pidgey and Spearow, as well as the occasional Kakuna or Metapod on a tree. Recently there have been sightings of Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur in the woods, where trainers had released them into the wild after realizing they didn't have what it takes to be a pokèmon trainer. This was the place the aides came to from Pallet Town to get a stock of starter pokèmon to tame for the new trainers every four years. Myra loved the history behind her home town, and that is why it was such a big deal to young trainers. Deep in the forest she had already walked down many dead ends, and in an hour she was lost. The twisting turns had her confused, but so far no wild pokèmon had jumped out. They were probably not awake yet. It was getting to be lunch time, so Myra stopped to eat a sandwich. Della caught up about halfway through the sandwich, and pulled out her own. Sandshrew fell face first into a deep nap. Ponyta laid down and nibbled grass as she rested her legs. The noise in the forest increased, the wild pokèmon were starting to wake up, and the smell of food was leading them closer to the girls. Myra took her last bite of her sandwich as a Rattata jumped out into the path. Ponyta and Myra jumped to their feet.

"Ponyta, ember!"

Ponyta blew flames from her mouth right at the wild Rattata, but it jumped out of the way and only a small flame hit it. The Rattata went in for a bite, but Ponyta reared out of the way, dodging the attack. The next burst of flames from Ponyta's mouth engulfed the Rattata completely and it fainted. Myra reached out and patted Ponyta on the neck. "Good girl!"

The group was invigorated by the battle and marched on in the forest, still with no idea how they were going to get out.

* * *

Roger was completely lost, he wanted to send Pidgey ahead to see if there were dead ends, but it kept getting attacked by wild pokèmon when he did that. He didn't have any berries with him, and Pidgey was getting beaten down from the many attacks. Roger wasn't sure they'd be able to beat a Caterpie if one showed up. Pidgey was taking a nap on his shoulder as he walked on in the forest. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a couple of people down a path. A guy was holding out a weird looking metal device, and a girl was following close behind him. He saw they had some pokèmon with them, but they were too far off for him to tell. He thought maybe the guy had a way out of the forest, so he turned their direction and started following the odd couple pretty far behind so they wouldn't start a battle with his exhausted Pidgey.

* * *

Myra started hearing a weird clicking sound behind them, but every time she turned around to look, the sound stopped. She had a weird feeling they were being followed, so she slowed down to Della's pace and whispered her suspicions. Della agreed to speed up, and they both took turns looking back down the trail. All of a sudden they were surrounded by a dark smokey haze. Myra couldn't see anything, she heard a nervous whinny a little to her left, and she walked toward the sound, hoping to run into Ponyta before something happened. Before she could take two steps, she saw flames shooting back and forth, and then someone grabbed her from behind! Myra screamed and turned, and Della's hand went over her mouth.

"Shhhh!" Della whispered.

Myra's heart was beating so loudly they might be found anyway. She reached for her backpack for a flashlight and realized it was gone! And the egg was in there along with all the berries her father had sent! She started panicking, grabbed Della's arm, and took off running towards the flames. The smog cleared and she saw Ponyta biting and charging a Vulpix. Standing behind the little pokèmon was a girl holding Myra's backpack, and a guy holding an odd metal gadget. Ponyta was trying to get at the backpack, but there was ice on the ground, making it hard for her to move without slipping. Myra saw the source of the odd ice standing behind the couple; a Seel was spraying water on the ground, and then blowing cold air over it, causing it to freeze. Myra turned to Della.

"Can Sandshrew dig some sand on the ice to make it less slippery? I can sneak around behind them and get my backpack!"

"Alright!"

Myra ran into the deep woods, getting caught on thorns and branches as she ran. A tear sprung up on her jeans, and some blood started running down her leg. But she needed to get her pack back, it had everything she needed for her journey! She could hear Ponyta running on the ice, and hoped she wouldn't slip and fall. She slipped through the last few trees and saw the couple right ahead of her, not paying any attention. Ahead of them, Vulpix looked like it was tiring, but Ponyta looked just as exhausted from balancing on the slippery surface. Now she just had to wait for Seel to leave it's trainer's side so she could slip in. Just then Vulpix fell down and fainted, so Seel went into battle and Myra dashed out and grabbed her bag. The girl was taken by surprise and fell over from the force of Myra's push. Myra kept running right into battle and onto the ice. Even though there was a layer of dirt on the ice from Sandshrew, it was still very slippery and Myra went down, landing on her side protecting the egg in her backpack. Ponyta galloped over and protectively stood over her. The boy with the metal gadget was coming closer, something on top of it was whirling in circles and making noises. As it got closer, it whirled faster. It was an egg detector! They were after her egg! She got to her feet quickly but it was too late, they were surrounded! The girl was on one side, and the boy was on the other, there was no where to go. Della was on the other side of the ice, watching with fear, Sandshrew was panting heavily beside her. Myra slipped a loop from her backpack over Ponyta's head. "Run Ponyta!"

Ponyta took off into the forest. The egg was safe now, but Myra was still surrounded. The two looked furious now that they egg was out of reach, but they couldn't do much with it gone. Myra stood there shaking as the two grabbed their pokèmon and ran back into the deep woods. She could hear the gadget clicking as they went after the egg, Myra hoped Ponyta had run far enough that they wouldn't find her or the egg.

* * *

The city! Roger could see it now, it was like a bright candle compared to the dark forest he had been in for hours. Pidgey was in bad shape, they had come across a few more wild pokèmon, and Pidgey had just barely fought them off. It was stronger, but very tired and couldn't do much more than a weak whimper. He took off running toward the pokèmon center, carrying Pidgey in his arms. As he was entering town he noticed the Ponyta from earlier, but its trainer was out of sight. It was peculiar because the Ponyta had a backpack around its neck, and was pacing nervously. He decided he would check it out after he took care of Pidgey.

The town was pretty quiet. Most trainers were probably still in the forest and would be camping there for the night. The ones that were in town were eying the gym, which was closed for the evening. Roger was sure that early in the morning a line would be forming to go against the leader in town. The pokècenter was right up ahead. He ran past the doors and realized the town was so quiet because everyone was in here! There were battered pokèmon everywhere, and even equally battered trainers. The forest must have been rough on everyone. There was a digital sign up. "WAIT TIME: 45 MINUTES" Roger sighed and got in line, his arms aching from carrying Pidgey.

* * *

Myra had never been so excited to see light! They were finally out of the forest! Della was panting heavily beside her as they picked up their pace toward town. They were both bathed in sweat, and even Sandshrew was getting tired of bounding behind them. Myra heard a shrill whinny and get slammed in the chest as Ponyta happily galloped over to them. She was so happy Ponyta was safe with the egg, but noticed the pokèmon looked completely worn. Her mane and tail flames were just barely flickering in the dim light, and her eyes were drooping. Myra pulled off the backpack and led her to the pokècenter. The center was nearly empty late in the evening, so it didn't take long to drop off their exhausted pokèmon. When the two girls set up their tent for the night, Myra showed Della the egg, and they took turns holding it and wondering what could be inside. Then they took out the drawing Della had found. It was peculiar, and there was something about it that stayed on Myra's mind. Throughout the night she had wild dreams of a Mew in trouble, and a young Professor Oak trying desperately to save it. And then a flash of light.


	4. Chapter 4

Myra woke up and looked around wildly, she thought for sure that dream was real! But all she saw was the dark gray interior of her tent. She lifted the flap and saw the sun just coming up from her right. Her bag was a mess from yesterday's excitement, so she took a few minutes to organize everything, under her map was the egg. It seemed to be more of a deep blue color today. She rubbed her eyes, maybe she just wasn't awake enough. The egg seemed so black before. She turned it over in her hands, it seemed to almost glow in the dim light. It didn't have any scratches from the ride on Ponyta, and it was hard as a rock! Myra wondered if it could be broken at all. She placed it back in her pack and headed to the crowded pokècenter to pick up Ponyta. Today she and Della would be separated until they were done with the gym leaders. They made plans to meet up in Cerulean City just in case one of them had trouble with the gym leader. Myra knew the leader had rock-type, and that Ponyta would have a hard time, but she was confident that her hard hitting stomps would eventually wear them down.

Myra and Ponyta headed to the north end of Pewter City. Ponyta was looking very lively today, the Chansey at the pokècenter had done a great job making her as good as new. The flames on her mane and tail wear blazing strongly in the sun. At the very north side of Pewter City was an ancient building, it was long since abandoned from Ash Ketchum's time, but it used to be a huge science museum with fossils in it. But since then someone broke in and stole all the fossils, and with nothing to display, the museum shut down. Myra knew there was nothing in there, but she wanted to have a look anyway. Some said it was haunted from the ancestors of the fossils it once housed, and it looked it. There were vines running down between the huge stone walls, and there was rust all over the door frame to the huge entrance. The door screeched as she pushed it open, and sunlight swept over the huge room.

There were still some old pieces of furniture laying throughout the museum, and tables with layers of dust over them. She could see small footprints from the little kids in the town exploring, but they only got a couple feet from the door, where the footprints ended and turned back to run away. Ponyta had her nose to the floor, sniffing, once in a while jerking her head up to look at something. Myra was hoping to find a clue about the egg, or possibly the drawing of Mew. She had it with her because Della wanted to stuff her bag with pokèballs to try to catch some more pokèmon. She took out the drawing and held it up to the light to see, and she saw something amazing! Within the drawing were lines all connected to a single point, where they broke out again. It was beautiful, and there were symbols within the lines, they looked familiar somehow, but Myra couldn't place where she'd seen them. She pulled out her journal and started drawing them out, hoping to solve the puzzle. Just then a soft creaking noise started behind her. The door slammed shut, and Myra's heart started beating a million miles an hour. It was pitch black, all she could see was Ponyta shining brightly far on the other side of the museum. Then a dark shadow got between her and Ponyta and the light.

Something solid rammed into Myra, and just as she was about to scream, she heard a thunk as Ponyta kicked the mass to the ground. Myra looked at the intruder's face in the light of Ponyta's flaming body. It was the arrogant boy in the woods! Roger! But where was his Pidgey, and why was he here? He slowly opened his eyes, still dazed from Ponyta's powerful kick.

"What are you doing here?" Myra asked.

"I saw the door open and decided to come in, the door accidentally shut behind me so I was looking for a light switch when I got attacked by your pokèmon!"

"Where's your pokèmon?"

"Pidgey is staying at the pokècenter for an extra day, we had a rough trip through the forest."

"Oh...I was going to ask you to battle, but without Pidgey-"

"I'll go get him and be right back!"

Myra returned to sketching out the puzzle within the ancient drawing, waiting for Roger to return. She noticed again the strange symbols, and sketched them out as well. She thought about showing them to Roger in case he knew what they were, but thought better of it, she didn't know him well enough to entrust this information to him. Though maybe one symbol wouldn't hurt…

Roger burst through the ancient door of the museum with Pidgey flying through the air behind him. Myra was excited, though some worry started eating at her stomach. Roger was a good trainer, and she wasn't sure if she could lead Ponyta well enough to win against him. They cleared off some of the debris to make room for a battle. The room was lighter now, with some dust swirling around in light circles. The two trainers squared off, tension emanating between them. Sparks danced off Ponyta in the charged room, and Pidgey ruffled it's feathers.

"Pidgey! Sand attack!"

"Ponyta! Agility!"

They both yelled at the same time. Ponyta became a blur as the dust in the room rose, neither trainer could see the other. The pokèmon danced in the dust together, jumping off old pieces of furniture as they came together and fell apart throughout the battle. Both trainers used their best strategies, but despite this, the pokèmon were beginning to tire. The battle dragged on, and the dust settled. Now Myra could clearly see Roger on the other side of the room, teeth clenched and eyes squinted in concentration. Ponyta was moving slower now, but so was Pidgey. They were so evenly matched! Then as the pokèmon ran towards each other one more time, Pidgey fell from the air in a mound of feathers, and Ponyta staggered to the ground with a soft whinny. Roger and Myra ran to their pokèmon. They had both gone down at the same time! Myra pulled the remaining berries from her pack and handed one to Roger as Ponyta gulped hers down. The two trainers looked at each other with understanding in their eyes. This was not over, not even close. Myra knew she had to prove that she was better by beating the gym leader first!

There was mutual silence as they walked out of the old museum together towards the pokèmon center. The sun was setting beside the stone gym when they looked over to see that the line of trainers had gone down. They both stopped.

"I found something, I wanted to know if you knew what it was," Myra asked.

Roger looked down at her journal to see the drawing of a strange symbol. It was a gray octagon that looked like it was carved to be set in a piece of jewelry.

"I've never seen this before," Roger responded. He took his time looking it over, then before Myra could say anything, he flipped to the next page, and then the next. She stood there not knowing what to do, how dare he just start flipping through her journal! After he flipped to the last page he looked up and asked, "where did all of this come from?"

Myra had no choice but to explain everything that had happened.

"It's a long story, come on, let's take our pokèmon to the pokècenter first."

That night she explained everything to Roger, and they discussed what everything could mean. Myra set her alarm early so she could be the first in line for the gym the next day, she wanted to get on her way and figure out the map and symbols. As she slipped into her sleeping bag, she took one last look at the egg, it shimmered a deep ebony in the dark. Maybe I was just imagining it today when it was blue.


	5. Chapter 5

Myra woke early and looked across the camp fire. Good, he's still asleep. She wanted to beat Roger to the gym and show him that she wasn't a weak little girl like he probably thought. She quietly packed her bag and set off toward to pokècenter. Ponyta was looking great today, her mane and tail were sparking in the morning light. The Chansey that brought her out kept her distance from the flames as they flew around Ponyta's body. Ponyta tossed her head and lept over to Myra, nudging her on the shoulder. "I know girl, you're ready to take on anything today!" Ponyta nodded her head as if to agree. As they headed over to the stone gym on the west side of town, Myra looked around, feeling as if this would be their last day here. South of the gym was an area where a lot of trainers were camping, north was where the old broken down museum was, and east showed a small path that she knew led to Cerulean City.

As they approached the stone gym, Myra started getting a little nervous, her belly fluttered with anxiety as she saw the massive stones that made up the gym, crafted many decades ago, the strongest pokèmon were used to set the stones. The result was the building that towered above her. She could see that some of the stones were growing moss up the sides. She took a breath and opened the strong wooden doors. Inside the gym was a waiting area, with large rocks to sit on, it was still half an hour until the gym opened, so Myra took a seat and looked around. Ponyta's skin was twitching in anticipation as she pranced over the stone floor, her hooves sending up sharp clicks as they struck the ground. The gym was dim and dusty, and Myra couldn't see very far in, she had to wait for an attendant to be allowed in to challenge the first trainer.

In school she remembered being told each type for the gyms, but they weren't allowed to say anything else, such as how many trainers she had to go through to get to the leader, and also who the leader was is a well kept secret. But she did know some things, because this was the first gym and so many tried to beat it, there was a little more known. For instance, she had heard rumors about having to beat two trainers before going against the gym leaders. Most people choose to go against one at a time, spreading them out throughout several hours or even days, but Myra wanted to get through all at once, and she was confident Ponyta was strong enough.

Bang! The door swung open, and there was Roger. Myra looked up, blushing. "You didn't think you could come here without me finding you, did you?" He asked.

"No…" Myra started to say. She racked her brain for an excuse, but was cut off when a flow of trainers seeped into the gym, filling the waiting area. Just then an attendant came in and asked for those who were ready for the leader, then the second trainer, and then finally he said, "Alright, whoever was here first come forward for the first trainer."

Myra took a shaky step forward, her heart pounding in her ears. He lead her into a large room off to the side and a man only who had to be only 22 walked into the room, he was only 5 years older than her 17. He had a stocky build, with dark, spiked hair. He looked fierce as he pulled out a pokèball. His eyes met hers as he tossed to ball. A Sandshrew came out, not a small one like Della's, but one that was just as stocky as it's owner. It was clearly male too, and strong looking. Ponyta took a step toward the center of arena. The battle had begun.

The pokèmon started toward each other, Ponyta taking careful, quick steps, and Sandshrew bounding and shaking the floor, hitting it like a hammer every time he landed. Neither trainers had to say much, their pokèmon were both trained enough to know what needed to be done, though once and awhile Myra shouted out some command to Ponyta. The battle was intense, and both sides looked even, Ponyta quick and agile, and Sandshrew strong and solid. But the battle was turning quickly in Myra's favor. Ponyta was dodging a lot of attacks, and getting in some extra ones with her brilliant speed. Sandshrew was slowing, looking more tired. Ponyta jumped toward him and kicked his side, with her momentum carrying her past. She turned, ready to go again, when Sandshrew wobbled, and then slowly crumpled to the ground. Quickly the man recalled Sandshrew back into its pokèball before he completely hit the ground. He nodded, then without looking up, walked out of the room. A very young boy of the same build ran out and presented Myra with a slip of paper, saying she had beaten the first trainer. The boy, who had to be just seven years old, led Myra down a long hallway, where she could see some training rooms full of Sandshrew that looked just like the one Ponyta had beaten. There must have been thirty or more. This must be how they battle so many trainers in a day.

The second trainer looked identical to the first, they could have been twins! Maybe they were, because he had a Sandshrew as well. This battle was easier, because Ponyta had already battled one Sandshrew, and this one was so similar that she could almost perfectly anticipate it's attacks, as well as take advantage of it's weakness. It wasn't long before Sandshrew crumpled to the ground and she was ushered into a long hallway with dim light at the end. There was a short line of trainers standing outside a solid door, some were leaning on the stone walls, while others were sitting on the ground, baseball caps over their eyes while they took a short nap. Myra took her spot at the end of the line, giving Ponyta a berry as the pokèmon laid onto the ground to rest before the big battle to come.

Hours later Myra was up next, the boy in front of her was walking dejected out of the giant arena, head down as a tear slipped down his face. Trainers only had three shots for each gym, and once you used your shots you had to find a new career. Myra was terrified now, she called to Ponyta, who jumped up and joined her as they walking in, the door slamming shut behind them. A young girl with dark curly hair and caramel colored skin was sitting on a stone armchair with two pokèballs in front of her. "I see you were tough enough to beat my older brothers. Well I'm not as easy to beat, you'll remember the name Sapphire, granddaughter of Brock. Let's battle!"

Myra was worried, she wanted a chance to ask about the egg, and maybe the drawing, but there was no time for that now. Ponyta sprang forward, ready for anything. Sapphire picked up the pokèball to her left, and a Geodude sprang out. The Geodude looked like a huge rock, about one foot in diameter. He wasn't big, but Myra knew he could take a lot of hits, and Ponyta would need to win by agility and perseverance. She told Ponyta earlier that she would need to alternate between quick attack and stomp after doing agility a few times. Geodude used harden, making his body more and more like solid steel, and making it so Ponyta's hooves hardly did any damage at all, but the Geodude was slow, and Ponyta was able to get in both a quick attack and stomp for each of Geodudes one tackle. Only it wasn't quite fair, Ponyta was dodging almost every tackle from Geodude. He was just so solid and heavy that she was easily able to jump out of the way. The Geodude slowly sunk closer to the ground, but the battle was brutal on both pokèmon, and Ponyta was tiring. Myra figured she would need a new strategy, letting the Geodude harden so much was a mistake. Geodude finally shuddered in the air, and then dropped the few more inches to the ground, and then was recalled back into his pokèball. Mura knew the battle was going to be close when she saw the pokèmon Sapphire called out next. An Onyx. Not just any Onyx, but one that was massive, he had to be three feet taller than Ponyta. Myra called out, "Quick attack Ponyta!"

Ponyta sprinted over and got a quick hit on before Onyx even knew what happened. It roared in anger. Stomp was taking too much of Ponyta's strength, so the rest of the battle Ponyta just kept doing quick attack, getting in quick hits on the Onyx's giant body. It was easier at first, but then as Onyx hardened, he became almost impossible to hurt. He threw some rocks at Ponyta, and one hit it's target, Ponyta crashed to the ground, breathing heavily. Myra took in her breath. Ponyta struggled to her feet, determined to get in one more hit. She galloped behind Onyx and jumped, high enough to reach his head, and used stomp for one last time, the momentum and power of the attack pushed Onyx to the ground. Ponyta landed next to him and rolled, then struggled to her feet, head down and sides heaving. Onyx lifted its head an inch, but immediately its eyes closed and slumped back down. Sapphire's eyes were burning with fire. She recalled Onyx, and then grudgingly pulled out a rock badge shaped like a gem. Myra felt a jolt of excitement, this was one of the symbols on the drawing! Sapphire stalked away as Myra searched through her bag. "Wait!" Myra yelled.

Sapphire paused, and turned around.

"I found something on the road, a drawing, would you look at it?"

Sapphire looked at Myra quizzically, still too angered to speak, but she nodded her head. Myra pulled out the drawing and handed it over. Sapphire looked for a minute and then quietly asked, "Is this Professor Oak? And a Mew? I think I know this story, but it was told to me when I was a little girl. My grandfather told me." Brock!

"What do you remember?" Myra asked.

"All I remember is Mew was weak, very weak, and Oak was trying to find something, an ancient remedy, but before he could find it, Mew disappeared, and soon after so did the other legendaries. Not a single one has been seen in over thirty years. And people have looked, my grandfather and Ash went on a long journey about ten years ago to look, but each home of the legendaries was eerily empty, and they came home empty handed. They even visited Mewtwo's Island to see if they had joined him to take in refugee pokèmon, but when they got to the island it was desolate and everything burned to the ground. They even contacted the leaders in the other regions, and they reported similar things. Something bad happened and no one knows why or how to fix it."

Myra was stunned, this wasn't something they were told in class, something her mother didn't even know. She wondered about the lines and symbols on the back, if they were gym badges, she didn't see how it meant anything other than a record of what badges were available, maybe something the artist was working on before they drew Oak.

Myra was walking out of the stone building when something hit her head, feathers were everywhere when she realized what happened, "Pidgey!" she exclaimed, happy to see the little bird. It looked just as excited as ever, flapping its wings and happily nestling in her hair. Roger ran up a second later, smirking. "How badly did you lose?"

Myra saw her chance. "Really bad…" She frowned as if defeated, and then shot a look at Ponyta, who quickly put her head down as if too exhausted to move.

A worried look crossed Roger's face, then it disappeared a he said, "Well sucks to suck! Come on Pidgey let's go beat the leader!"

He walked away and Myra smiled to herself, the line was long enough he'd have a few hours of worrying before he'd get a chance to challenge the leader himself. She called back over her shoulder, "I'll be in front of Mt. Moon tonight, I have a lot to tell you about the drawing, so don't take too long!" Confusion spread over his face, and then it registered that she had beat the leader. Before he could respond Myra and Ponyta jogged down the hallway to the entrance, which was nearly empty, and headed out into the bright sun, which nearly blinded her from being in the dim building for so long.


End file.
